Having previously melded Armenian liturgical tones with modern jazz, pianist/composer Tigran Hamasyan creates a rich mosaic of poetry, post bop piano and themes from his Byzantine culture. Hamasyan plays piano and keyboard aw well as multitracking his voice to create an Armenian choir with his team of bassist Evan Marien and drummer Arthur Hnatek. The songs are at times multi-themed events, such as “Levitation 21” which opens with a cantoral chant leading into an intricate trio affair before mixing piano with rap works. Rapid three way interchanges are bookended by solemn echoe’d effects on “Our Film” (with guests Areni Agbabian and Artyom Manukyan) with the team creating exciting and complex drama on “New Maps”
At times, Hamasyan and company sound like King Crimson, with an ATARI intro to “Vortex” and Tosin adding some intense electric guitar to the kinetic piece, while “Space of Your Existence” includes synth sounds and hard hitting grooves. Some Pat Metheny-esque soundscapes with voices and optimistic cadences are created on “The Dream Voyager” while Orthodox voices and Tomita-like electronics take place on the dramatic “Newlyweds”. Quite a journey, and each piece having ups and downs like a journey along the mountains of Ararat.